庆祝 (qìng zhù) is a verb meaning 'to celebrate' — to express joy and honor an important event, achievement, or occasion. It combines two characters: 庆 (qìng), which means 'to rejoice' or 'auspicious celebration', and 祝 (zhù), meaning 'to wish' or 'to offer good wishes'. Together, they convey the idea of both expressing happiness and offering blessings — making it more formal and heartfelt than casual words like 过 (guò, as in 过生日). It's commonly used for milestones like birthdays, weddings, national holidays, graduations, and company anniversaries.

This word is often followed by the object of celebration (e.g., 庆祝春节, 庆祝胜利) and typically appears with verbs like 举行 (to hold), 举办 (to organize), or simply as the main verb in sentences with time or location complements. While it can be used in speech, it’s more frequent in written Chinese and formal spoken contexts — you’ll hear it in news reports, speeches, invitations, and official announcements.